Meeting the growing demand for a comprehensive, modern account of the changes sweeping the leading oil-exporting countries of the Middle East, The New Gulf – How Modern Arabia is Changing the World for Good is a timely explanation of how the region was made and the potential political and economic impact it will have on the world in the years to come.

“A new Gulf is rising — one that will be radically different to the one we know. This book is about the economic , social and political transformation sweeping the six Gulf states of the GCC... Now the fastest growing part of the world economy.

This absorbing new publication provides a concise but complete description of the Arabian countries benefiting most from the affluence sweeping the Middle East in the 21st century. The New Gulf — How Modern Arabia is Changing the World for Good focuses on the economic, social and political transformation sweeping the Gulf states: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It provides a timely explanation of how the region was developed and the significant impact it will have on the world in the years to come.

Meeting the growing demand for a comprehensive, modern account of the changes sweeping the leading oil-exporting countries of the Middle East, The New Gulf— How Modern Arabia is Changing the World for Good is a timely explanation of how the region was made and the potential political and economic impact it will have on the world in the years to come.

The author, Edmund O’Sullivan, delves into Arabia’s past to narrate a remarkable story. It encompasses Adam and Eve, Alexander the Great and the Persian Empire, Rome at its peak and Byzantium in decline, the coming of Islam, the rise of the Seljuks and Ottomans, and the arrival of Portuguese, Dutch and British traders. Finally, he describes the extraordinary dramas of the 20th century, including the discovery of oil that made the Gulf one of the world’s most vital regions.

Turning to the present, O’Sullivan forecasts the six Arabian countries that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are set to become the sixth largest economy in the world by 2030. He predicts the civilization emerging in the New Gulf will help transform the wider region for the better, with profound and inspiring consequences.

O’Sullivan challenges the common assertion that the Gulf is a permanent source of political instability and that conflict in the region is inevitable. He also foresees its growing affluence as having a profound, positive and irreversible impact on some of the biggest issues both the region and the world face in the 21st century.

Putting years of experience and specialized knowledge into a single volume, The New Gulf— How Modern Arabia is Changing the World for Good is essential reading for residents in — or visitors to — the Gulf.

About the Author:

Edmund O’Sullivan is Chairman of MEED Events, the conference division of the UK’s MEED Group.
Born in the UK, O’Sullivan went to school in Slough and, after graduating in monetary economics from the LSE, worked at Reuters Economic Services and as a government economist. He joined MEED in 1979 as a specialist writer on energy and finance. In subsequent years he travelled extensively across Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, reporting on developments during the second oil boom and the subsequent oil bust of 1986 and its aftermath.

O’Sullivan continued his travels across the region and reported on economic and political developments in every Middle East country — including from Baghdad during the Iran-Iraq war.

In 1996, O’Sullivan was appointed publisher, a position he held for seven years. He was named Business Publisher of the Year for 2003 by the PPA. O’Sullivan is now based in Dubai. He chairs conferences and writes ‘The Last Word’, a weekly opinion piece about economic and political developments in the region.

O’Sullivan is married with one son. He has a passion for music and was a member of the internationally renowned London Welsh Male Voice Choir before moving to the Gulf.